Home School Group Fights eBay’s Teacher Textbook Ban

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is expressing concern that eBay has banned the sale of teacher’s guides through its online auctions, a move that could drive up the cost of instructional materials for home-schooling families.

The new eBay policy prohibits “the sale of teacher’s editions of textbooks and solutions manuals that are intended solely for use by teachers.” The online auction site says the policy is designed to prevent people from making illegal copies of the teacher’s guides. However, the ban has drawn the ire of many home educators.

Mike Smith, president of the HSLDA, says he has tried unsuccessfully to convince eBay to drop its ban and trust that home schoolers would not make illegal copies. His organization sees eBay’s new policy as a real problem, he explains, “because it’s really expensive to have to buy all new textbooks all the time.” However, eBay was unmoved, so the home-schooling group has had to come up with its own creative solution.